Ed & Cindy Knight

Well now that Congress has the "Bail Out" finalized, it should be interesting to see just WHO and HOW they will be handling the sale of these "assets".

I have an idea - since it's OUR money we should have a say from now on. Here's MY plan

• Get RID of the asset managers and the handful of bank agents they use and spread the wealth - I would like to get Some of my money back. Why over work a few agents?
• Make these "assets" salable and put some money into them instead of taking Huge losses**. That way you'll stop running the prices into the ground and causing more foreclosures.
• Price them at Market Value instead of pennies on the dollar, unless of course you would like to see "Bail Out" round 2 from the surrounding neighbors.
• Force the banks to approve a short sale within 2 weeks on the new ones coming in the pipeline. You managed to spend $7 bill in 2 weeks - they should get us an answer in 2 weeks.
• If someone is making their payments on time cut them some slack and Work with them Quickly, so they are not forced into foreclosure - we bailed you out at least you could do is help them.
• How about we collect some of the debt back from those that foreclosed? I do not mind borrowing money to help a neighbor but darn it I expect some of it back. I pay my debts.
• Anyone that did a "buy and bail", destroyed their home or pulled money out and ran should be held responsible. Why does our society keep rewarding Bad behavior?
• Do Not let HUD handle these assets - the last thing we need is more government involvement.

What concerns me is how much they are willing to sell these "assets" for here's an example**

• 03-11-05 home sold for $785,000
• 07-12-06 mortgage $675,000 and $150,000
• 11-27-07 sold at sheriff sale for $562,500
• 06-06-08 placed on market by bank agent for $379,900
• 03-11-08 Sold for $415,000 in 5 days - that's 50% which can ruin this neighborhood

Right now in Macomb County 15% (1396) homes and condos are bank owned/foreclosed and 5.5% (489) are short sales. How many more are there around the country? How many of these are figured into the "asset" pile and how many more are going to follow?

Today I received a strange call from a very nice gentleman at Adult Well-Being Service, he asked if I had any rentals available in Roseville or Warren. He proceeded to tell me that he needed to place a man and his young daughter in a home very quickly because they were living in shelters and hotels. They needed to get this little girl in school, since it was count day. Normally since these cities are a distance from our home and office, we do not usually work rentals there and usually tell callers we can not help them. But in this case I felt compelled to try and help. The man gave more details which I will not go into now.

I immediately dropped the 7 things I was doing, went into the MLS and searched for homes and condos in his price range. Then called him back a few minutes later and told him what was available. He asked if I could e-mail him the information. Shortly after he called back asking about two of the homes. The 1st agent told me his seller was really looking for a land contract, so I contacted the other agent. Then proceeded to tell her the situation and told her I would back out so things could move faster. However, my portion of the commission was to go back to the organization.

Actually the commission would only amount to maybe $300 but hey I figured every little bit helps. This would help the seller get rid of a vacant home, get the other agent a little money, give the agency some help and the most important help this man and his young daughter find a Home.

Remember Pay It Forward - not only during the holidays but ALL Year.

You can help Here

Recently while attending a trade show I entered into a conversation with an inspector from Protech about Radon. He proceeded to tell me that many areas of Michigan do have radon and it is the #2 leading cause of Lung Cancer. Of course, I was very surprised because although it is listed on our Sellers Disclosure it is a test very rarely done in our area. In fact, in 20 years I have maybe seen 5-10 tests done and they were done by a relocation company.

Now here's the best part the EPA radon chart for Macomb County Michigan is Zone 3 less than 2 pCi/L or Low Potential. The EPA acceptable level is 4, so this maybe why many are not concerned.

But since Protech offered me a Free Home Testing Kit we took it, hung it in our basement as instructed and sent it in to the lab. Shortly after we received a call saying our level was 9.8. So we decided to get a second opinion and hired Matt from Sherlock Homes Inspection. Now this test was much more detailed and cost us money. It was performed with a machine that was placed in our basement for 48 hours and the machine checked our Radon levels 50 times. Our high level was 11.2 our low level 5.4 and the average came in at 7.8. Remember the EPA safe level is 4.We are going to have it removed by having it vented outside via our sump hole as suggested by both companies and the EPA.

Now back to my orginial question- How does the EPA determine Radon Levels? Well lets just say I will find out. You can bet ALL my clients past and present will be given this information and I will personally recommend they have their homes tested. In 1991 I quit smoking, the #1 cause of Lung Cancer and I do not think there is enough information about Radon provided to the general public.

January is National Radon Action Month get involved and be sure you test. Radon Fact Sheet.

Below is the Real Estate market update for Macomb Township as of Today.

618 - Homes are currently for sale

131 - Condos are currently for sale

of those 94% are private owners and 6% are bank owned

121 - Homes and Condos are currently pending a closing

80 - Home and Condos were sold over the past 30 days

It should also be noted that of the 749 homes and condos for sale 49 are short sales.

As real estate agents we use this data to help you determine how long it will take for your home to sell. It is referred to as absorption rate Currently in Macomb Township the rate is 10.9 months.

However, to speed up the process our sellers are given bi weekly updates and are e-mailed a daily status report, that details not only the homes hitting the market but also the homes that have sold. These 2 items help keep you abreast of your competition, so your home is Sold Faster.

For more information on homes for sale in Macomb Township you can visit us on-line at http://EdandCindyKnight.ListingBook.com or contact us at blog@edandcindyknight.com

Information taken MiRealsource, Inc and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Below is the Real Estate market update for Washington Township as of Today.

208 - Homes are currently for sale

55 - Condos are currently for sale

of those 95% are private owners and 5% are bank owned

35 - Homes and Condos are currently pending a closing

26 - Home and Condos were sold over the past 30 days

It should also be noted that of the 263 homes and condos for sale 10 are short sales.

As real estate agents we use this data to help you determine how long it will take for your home to sell. It is referred to as absorption rate Currently in Washington Township the rate is 11.5 months.

However, to speed up the process our sellers are given bi weekly updates and are e-mailed a daily status report, that details not only the homes hitting the market but also the homes that have sold. These 2 items help keep you abreast of your competition, so your home is Sold Faster.

For more information on homes for sale in Washington Township you can visit us on-line at http://EdandCindyKnight.ListingBook.com or contact us at blog@edandcindyknight.com

Information taken MiRealsource, Inc and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed